1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a drain plug or stopper disposed in an opening for a water basin such as a sink or bathtub, and more particularly toward a drain stopper assembly including a manually actuated reciprocating closure member for controlling the flow of water through the basin opening.
2. Related Art
Water basins are used in numerous applications for washing, storage, drinking and the like. Typically, such basins include an opening located at a lower extremity thereof so that water can drain under the influence of gravity. A stopper or closure device is placed in the opening to selectively prevent water from flowing through the opening. In many applications, water contained in the basin will contain debris in the form of hair, leaves, etc. which has the potential to clog the stopper device. When this occurs, it is typically necessary to remove completely the drain stopper and then reach one's finger or a cleaning tool into the drain passage to remove the clogged materials. Afterwards, the stopper device must be reinstalled. Many consider this removal and reinstallation process of the stopper to be unpleasant work.
FIG. 1 illustrates one exemplary water basin application in the form of a bathing tub. A drain assembly is disposed in the bottom of the tub for evacuating water through a drain pipe system. According to prior art traditions, the stopper assembly may be of the type shown in FIG. 2 wherein a closure member can be manually raised to let water flow out the drain and lowered to store water in the basin. In the lowered position, the closure member or stopper forms a seal with respect to the assembly housing so that water cannot pass through the central drain passage and into the piping system below. When debris caught in the stopper assembly builds to a sufficient degree, water flow is substantially diminished and/or arrested entirely even when the stopper is in the raised position. This is shown for example in FIG. 2 where a build-up of hair is trapped inside the drain passage. As stated previously, prior art drain stopper assemblies do not provide adequate clearance in the raised position for the average person's finger (80) or a suitable cleaning tool, thereby requiring complete removal of the stopper from the drain assembly.
This problem is inherent to all prior art drain stopper assemblies—namely such designs do not allow easy access to clean debris from within the drain passage. Examples of prior art drain stopper assemblies may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,781 to Seewack, granted Jan. 8, 1963; U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,507 to Craig et al., granted May 22, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,461 to Logsdon, granted Dec. 17, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,544 to Pan, granted Nov. 10, 1998; US 6,138,290 to Lin, granted Oct. 31, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,570 to Ball, granted Jul. 16, 2002; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,544 to Ryan, granted Apr. 2, 2002.
There exists a need within the art of closures and stoppers for basins to provide greater and more convenient access when the drain passage becomes clogged with debris, without requiring disassembly of the stopper.